Akraberg Lighthouse

Southernmost point of the Faroe Islands; lighthouse built in 1909 on vertical clifftops

Five kilometres south of Sumba by road and then footpath, Akraberg is the southernmost point of the entire Faroe Islands. The lighthouse here, built in 1909 in red and white brick, stands on the clifftops above vertical drops into the sea. Seabirds — guillemots, kittiwakes, puffins in summer — nest in the cliff faces below.

The walk from the road end to the lighthouse takes about 20 minutes over easy terrain. The exposure to the Atlantic weather at Akraberg is unmediated by any windbreak; even on days that seem calm in Sumba, conditions at the point can be severe. Come prepared. In good weather, the combination of the lighthouse, the cliffs, the birds, and the sheer sense of being at the edge of an archipelago makes this one of the most memorable spots in Suðuroy.

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A story
Akraberg is the southernmost point of the Faroe Islands — a fact that becomes viscerally real when you stand there in the wind and look south. The next significant land in that direction is Scotland, about 300 km away. The lighthouse keeper position was notoriously difficult to staff in the early 20th century; the isolation and weather made it one of the least desirable postings in the Danish realm.